Utterance (MTC)
Utterances are powerful magics used by the Arisen and flowing from the ancient sources of magic that created them. While affinities manifest spontaneously from a mummy's soul, Utterances must be learned and are methods of focusing Sekhem into "great and terrible" effects. Unlike pretty much every other supernatural power among creatures in the Chronicles of Darkness, each Utterance has three tiers of power which each have individual Pillar rating prerequisites. These prerequisites follow two patterns (1,2,4 or 1,3,5) depending on their power, and each tier is treated separately (i.e. one does not need to qualify for the second tier to gain either the first or second). According to the Mummy: The Curse Rulebook, Utterances reward players for "diversifying their mastery of Pillars instead of focusing exclusively on one or two." To activate an Utterance, mummies must spend dots from their Pillars: one Pillar of any type plus (for the second and third tiers) an additional Pillar from the specific type for that tier. A single instant action can be used to activate any or all of the tiers in a single Utterance. Some utterances with the Unison keyword (see Guildhalls of the Deathless p. 91) are weaker or impossible if not working in a group. Even for non-unison utterances, the Arisen can pool their Sekhem if working in choir (see Guildhalls of the Deathless p. 92). Ancestry of Forgotten Stars Prerequisite: Guild Status (Su-Menent) + * Ren : The mummy gains a twisted, demonic "second flesh" visible only in Twilight. * Sheut : In addition to the ephemeral twisting of the first tier, the mummy is able to twist the geometry of space to their benefit. * Ba : Acting in a choir, several mummies fuse together into a gestalt creature called the Herald of Forgotten Stars. From Guildhalls of the Deathless. Awaken the Dead * Ba : The mummy can use part of their lifeforce to reawaken a corpse and question it. * Sheut : With this tier, the mummy can cause the corpse to actually stand and serve it. * Ren : Rather than an undead creature, the mummy can actually resurrect a dead person for a short period. Blessed is the God-King * Ren : The Arisen can use his connection to Fate to bring himself good luck. * Ab : On rolls enhanced with Willpower, the mummy or a touched ally can reroll for a better result. * Defining Pillar : The inner divinity of the mummy transforms her body into a fantastic image of godhood. Additional information in Book of the Deceived. Bound as Fingers in a Fist Prerequisite: Guild Status (Maa-Kep) + * Ka : The mummy can increase the Teamwork bonus of its companions. * Ren : Using name-portion of its soul, the mummy can imbue a collection of amulets with powers to bind the wearers together. * Ba : This subtle utterance temporarily changes the Virtue and Vice of individuals in a group to the mummy's. From Guildhalls of the Deathless. Call Down the Black Huriyah * Ka : The mummy calls down black angels of blasphemous gods to lead him to objects of power. * Sheut : The Black Huriyah brings ruin to beings in Twilight near the mummy. * Ren : The mummy brings the black angels down on his enemies, devouring their Sekhem. From Book of the Deceived. Chthonic Dominion * Ba : The mummy summons a glowing orb that provides light and exposes ghosts in the area. * Sheut : At this tier, the mummy can compel ghosts to follow commands and answer questions. * Ren : The Arisen reshapes a ghost, changing Virtue, Vice, Morality, derangements, anchors, or memories. Command the Beasts * Ka : Cloaked by Sekhem, the mummy can avoid notice from all animals. * Ab : The Arisen can command and interact with animals with complete mastery. * Sheut : On a target person or area, the mummy lays a curse that cause animals to turn against the object of his wrath. Discipline the Obstinate Prerequisite: Guild Status (Maa-Kep) + * Ab : Unleashing raw power in word form, the mummy strips flesh and shakes souls, growing in power with a choir. * Ren : This tier punishes those who talk about the Arisen or his business without permission within a mile. * Sheut : The wrath of the slave-driver comes to bear as everyone within miles is afflicted with blindness, except those spared by name, and light sources fail. From Guildhalls of the Deathless. Doom Affliction * Ab : The target of the Utterance has one of his Skills cursed for a day, increasing target numbers for tests. * Ka : With this greater command, attacks against the target are easier. * Ba : In addition to increasing all target numbers for the target, failures are treated as dramatic failures. Draw Forth the Bane Heart * Sheut : The mummy reveals all creatures in Twilight around them. * Ab : The mummy calls forth ghosts and poisons the wounds of mortals. * Ren : The ghosts called out by the mummy may be attacked by mundane weapons. From Book of the Deceived. Dreams of Dead Gods * Ba : The Arisen unleashes dreams guided by Fate which cause derangements in others. * Ka : The mummy can send a powerful dream to a specific target. * Ab : Seeding the target's aura with dreams, the mummy can cause the victim to be shrouded in distrust, cursed love, or mystical grandeur. Additional information in Book of the Deceived. Dust Beneath Feet * Ba : Embracing her true form, the mummy gains the ability to move and exist as a creature of dust. * Ka : With greater mastery, the Arisen becomes a creature even greater than her natural form, larger and stronger. * Sheut : The Arisen commands the earth around her, unleashing her wrath as an earthquake. Forgetting the Name * Sheut : Calling out the target's True Name, the mummy strikes them dead wherever they are. * Ab : The mummy is able to strike dead supernatural creatures with their True Name. * Ren : Using their true name, the mummy can destroy the Memory of another Deathless. From Book of the Deceived. Gift of the Golden Ankh * Ka : The mummy can use a shared vision to reinforce their follower's strength. * Ba : With the same vision the mummy can bestow a Merit on the follower. * Ab : The golden ankh heals the target with shining light. Harvest the Divine Flesh Prerequisite: Guild Status (Mesen-Nebu) + * Ka : The alchemist transmutes a mortal's flesh into lifeless gems and metals. * Sheut : Chanting over a bound mortal target, the Arisen transforms it into precious gems and metals. * Ka : The Arisen's body transforms into a divine form of metal and jewels, a tireless and powerful godly body. From Guildhalls of the Deathless. Inscriptions of Flesh Prerequisite: Guild Status (Sesha-Hebsu) + * Ba : The Arisen looks at the self underneath the physical self, learning Attributes, Skills, Merits or Flaws, and current Health of the target. * Ka : At this tier, the mummy is able to discern weaknesses of supernatural creatures to exploit with attacks. * Ren : The mummy can change the fundamental workings of a target's body, killing mortal targets, causing aggravated damage, or reshape their body. From Guildhalls of the Deathless. Jar of Clay Prerequisite: Guild Status (Su-Menent) + * Ba : By handling the organs preserved in its canopic jars, the mummy can store Sekhem in there for later use. * Ren : When resurrecting, the mummy can change its appearance like shaping clay. * Ka : The mummy can make a second clay form to resurrect into, splitting their Sekhem and acting in two places at once. From Guildhalls of the Deathless. Kiss of Apep * Ren : With a touch the mummy inflicts a supernatural disease onto the target. * Ka : The Arisen can imbue one of her possessions with a death curse which grips anyone who damages it. * Sheut : A black cloud of shadow fills the area around the mummy, attacking her enemies and driving them mad. Additional information in Book of the Deceived. Mastery of Heka's Bounty Prerequisites: Guild Status (Tef-Aabhi) + * Sheut : By disrupting the structure of the environment around it, the mummy hampers those who would work against it. * Ab : The mummy reworks an area's heka and makes it disorienting to any coming into it. * Ren : After causing severe damage to an area and disrupting its heka, the mummy unleashes this tier and degrades the area dramatically. From Guildhalls of the Deathless. Name the Extinguished Star * Ab : The dead star called upon makes it impossible for the target to hide from the mummy. * Sheut : The mummy is able to see and hear the surroundings of her target. * Ren : This tier requires the target's True Name but inflicts damage on him. From Book of the Deceived. Obedient Clay * Ba : By investigating an object, the mummy can tell physical and metaphysical properties of the object. * Ren : Objects can be changed with this tier and shaped to the mummy's will. * Ab : With this tier objects can be completely remade, even turned into precious metals. Palace Knows Its Pharaoh * Ka : By concentrating on the artificial structure she is currently inside, the mummy can learn its shape and properties. * Ren : In addition to sensing the building, the Arisen can exert her force of will over it. * Ba : The mummy is able to join together two doors in the structure as linked magical portals. Power of Re * Ren : The mummy can create a magical flame nearby that can carry her voice. * Sheut : Magical darkness consumes nearby fires, or is woven into the mystical fire of tier 1 fire to feed other flames into the summoned one. * Ab : The Arisen screams out the sun, burning and blinding his foes. Rebuke the Vizier * Ka : The Arisen creates a ward against the supernatural. * Ba : At this tier, the mummy is able to summon the ward reflexively. * Ren : The protective ward is turned outward, finding and scouring the magic of others. Additional information in Book of the Deceived. Redacting the Word Prerequisite: Guild Status (Sesha-Hebsu) + * Sheut : The mummy is able to remove knowledge from the world, pulling it from the minds that hold it. * Ka : Removing the name of a fallen individual from the Scroll of Ages, the mummy erases physical evidence of his existence from the world. * Ren : At the strongest tier, this utterance fully removes a creature from the world, making it so that they never existed. Revealing Words * Ab : The mummy is able to sense the presence of another supernatural creatures. * Ba : The mummy is able to sense the nature of any supernatural creatures around her. * Ren : As the tier above but for a crowd of creatures. From Book of the Deceived. Revelations of Smoke and Flame * Sheut : At the mummy's command, the air thickens into choking, concealing smoke. * Ab : The mummy forms the smoke and flames into expanding wings that give him a powerful presence. * Ba : Becoming truly supernatural, the mummy turns into an intangible which can lead followers through hardships. Rite of the Sacred Scarab * Sheut : The mummy creates an artificial scarab which protects the bearer. * Ren : With the sacrifice of some life's blood, the scarab creation becomes more powerful. * Ka : Rather than a single scarab, the mummy summons one of several types of swarms. Secrets Ripped From Skies * Ba : The Arisen looks into the sky and determines her exact location. * Sheut : Speaking a word of power, the mummy summons a meteorite to fall on the target. * Ren : The mummy is able to find the secrets of Fate in the night sky. Seeds of Life * Ka : The mummy becomes resistant to any damage from plants or plant products, can draw poison out of a victim, and can create a serpent from a length of wood. * Ren : In a natural setting the Arisen creates a growth of edible plants, as determined by Fate, which can make others receptive to the mummy's words. * Ab : The Arisen can cause a target to become incredibly fertile, conceiving a child at the next opportunity who will be born a Witness. Shadow Name * Sheut : The mummy obscures her True Name for a scene. * Ba : A more powerful version of the tier above. * Ren : The mummy can substitute the True Name of another being for her own True Name so that any spells target them instead. From Book of the Deceived. Torn Veil of Forgetting * Sheut : The mummy hides in plain sight, blurring her identity to hide it from mortals. * Ab : With a touch, the mummy shares a compressed bundle of memories with the target. * Ba : In a reverse of the previous tier, the mummy pulls memories from the target surrounding a certain question. Additional information in Book of the Deceived. Unspeaking What Is Known * Ba : The mummy can conceal someone from the world's notice. * Ka : The mummy can make someone enter a state of Twilight. * Ren : The mummy can kill someone dead on the spot, disintegrate their body, and cause all memories and records of them to be forgotten and lost. Non-mummies who somehow survive this are barred from rebuilding a physical form in the material world by use of any magic for a thousand years, which cannot be cheated. From Lore of the Deceived. Water of Life and Death * Ren : Striking the ground, the mummy creates a natural spring of fresh, clear water. * Sheut : The Arisen curses all nearby water, turning it to blood for a number of hours. * Ba : The mummy is able to part a large body of water, making a corridor that can be walked down. Whispers of the Earth * Sheut : The mummy listens to vermin for knowledge of what lies below the earth. * Ka : The vermin tell the mummy of any foreign objects hidden in the earth. * Ren : The mummy pulls objects or people hateful to him down into the earth. Word of the Amanuensis * Ren : The mummy translates any written message into another language. * Ab : Speaking in the sorcerous language of Irem, the Arisen can convey meaning without words. * Ren : With a charged word of anti-language, the mummy removes the ability of those around her to understand language. Word-Warding Bonds * Sheut : The mummy makes it more difficult for them to be physically harmed by anyone whose name they know. * Ab : A nimbus of light surrounds the mummy that affects anyone whose name they know, and who means them harm, making them feel an irresistible urge to leave the area the nimbus covers. * Ren : A single target whose true name is known to the mummy becomes unable to take any hostile action against them, and must obey all commands the mummy gives that will not result in any immediate physical harm to the target. From Lore of the Deceived. Words of Dead Fury * Sheut : The mummy creates a new anchor to summon a ghost, though she has no control over it. * Ka : The Arisen enchants a suitable area to strengthen any ghosts that manifest in it. * Ba : The mummy summons a cthonic beast, a creature not quite spirit and not quite demon. Words of Dead Glory * Sheut : The mummy turns a nearby corpse into a nenitu, a ravenous undead creature with an infectious bite. * Ba : The Arisen prepares a corpse to become a revenant for a ghost to possess. * Ka : More than a simple revenant, the mummy is able to put a ghost into a nearby corpse and return some part of its humanity to make it stronger. Words of Dead Hunger * Ren : The mummy is able to recognize ghosts and anchors, as well as gaining the ability to physically grapple with manifested ghosts. If the mummy holds on long enough, she can learn the secrets of a Numen the ghost possessed. * Ba : The Arisen can empower a ghost with a Numen of Fate's choosing or a specific Numen she knows from the first tier. * Sheut : Opening his mouth impossibly wide, the mummy swallows ghosts into a place of torment until pardoned by the mummy and charged with a specific task. Wrathful Desert Power * Ab : The mummy can unleash blasts of scouring sand against his enemies. * Ba : The desert sands unleashed by the mummy can swallow and capture targets. * Ka : The Arisen summons forth a massive sandstorm that lasts an hour, ruining everything in its path. References *MTC: Mummy: The Curse Rulebook Category:Mummy: The Curse glossary